Story of the Day:
Three weeks into March 2020 trading on the LuSE we see a replica of the second week of February is performance. the equities market is not completely dominated as it scores 12% to 88% on the bond market, we will see if this time the equities market will retain its glory of not being completely dominated. Read more
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Zambia says the risk of global growth remains tilted downwards. BoZ further notes that Inflation outcomes are expected to range from a minimum of 13.4% to 14.3% with a 30% probability; 11.9% to 15.0% with a 70% probability; and 11.2% to 15.6% with a 90% probability. Read more: Zambia Reports
The Economic Association of Zambia has observed that Africa’s economies risks collapsing if the African Union does not collectively agree and declare that it will not pay interest on debt for the duration of the Corona virus pandemic. Association President Lubinda Habaazoka says with shrinking economic activities in the wake of the corona virus , African countries are increasingly finding it difficult to collect revenue. Read more: Lusaka Times
The lockdown by some countries in view of the coronavirus (COVID-19) provides an opportunity for Zambian manufacturers to grow and supply the domestic economy without having to use policy instruments that may be against international agreements that the country is part to. Read more: Zambia Daily Mail
The kwacha has continued to lose ground against major convertibles on the foreign exchange market, trading at a low of between K17.30 and K17.64 for buying and selling respectively on interbank by midday yesterday. Read more: News Diggers
KPMG Featured Article
Maya Angelou once said and I quote – “I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel”. Over the years, human resource management has become more and more complex because just like technology, people are evolving at an incredible rate. Read more
International Business and Finance
White House and Senate leaders struck a major deal early Wednesday morning over a $2trillion package to provide a jolt to an economy struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic, capping days of marathon negotiations that produced one of the most expensive and far-reaching measures in the history of Congress. Read more: CNN
There was further financial turbulence on Tuesday when stock markets around the world climbed sharply higher, as investors grappled with the economic impact of the coronavirus. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.4% – its biggest daily gain since 1933. The S&P 500 and London’s FTSE 100 enjoyed their best days since the 2008 financial crisis, rising more than 9%. Read more: BBC News
The UK chancellor has told airlines to find other forms of funding and not turn first to the government for help getting through the coronavirus crisis. Aviation bosses have been lobbying the government for a targeted aid package to stop firms going under as a result of the slump in demand. Read more: BBC News
A Chinese economic data report said it’s “not unreasonable” that gross domestic product will contract 10% to 11% in the first quarter, even with a slight upturn in the last few weeks of this month. Read more: CNBC
Boeing is reportedly planning on restarting the production of its troubled 737 Max aircraft by May. Read more: Business Insider
As the deadly coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the globe and hitting hard on economies, Kenya is seeking in excess of Sh116.6 billion ($1.166 billion) in emergency support from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to strengthen Kenya’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more: Business Insider
Nigeria’s central bank held its benchmark lending rate at 13.5% on Tuesday, as its governor said it would take time to assess measures already taken to support the economy in response to the coronavirus outbreak. Godwin Emefiele said the bank’s monetary policy committee voted unanimously to retain the rate. Read more: Reuters
South Africa saw a dip in foreign direct investment in 2019 compared to the previous year, with inflows falling to 66.8 billion rand ($3.78 billion) from 72.1 billion rand, the central bank said on Tuesday. Read more: IOL
Capital Markets Report
In 14 trades recorded yesterday, 28,463 shares were transacted yielding a market turnover of K20,016. A share price gain of K0.07 was recorded in Zaffico. Trading activity was also recorded in Copperbelt Energy Corporation, Lafarge and CEC Africa on the quoted tier. The LuSE All Share Index (LASI) closed at 4,237.08 points, 0.15% up from its previous close of 4,230.65 points. The market closed on a capitalization of K57,261,419,528 including Shoprite Holdings and K23,022,213,548 excluding Shoprite Holdings.
Chart of the Day: